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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
The Vicar of Wakefield is Goldsmith's only novel. He was also a poet and dramatist, but was most of all known as an essayist. He initially made a name for himself by working as a "hack writer" (that is, a writer who quickly churns out articles or other works). Unlike Dr. Primrose's son George, Goldsmith's work on Grub Street brought him success and attention, allowing him to make friends with influential writers like Samuel Johnson. Goldsmith's experience as an essayist shapes his writing style and is particularly noticeable in passages in which Dr. Primrose lays out his moral and political views with carefully constructed arguments. Although Goldsmith may have written them with a satirical edge in mind, Dr. Primrose's didactic yet charming, well-argued, and convincing digressions provide insight into Goldsmith's style as an essayist.
A significant stylistic element of the novel is the epigraph found at the beginning of each chapter. In these epigraphs, Goldsmith provides commentary on the chapter's events and mood. Many of them follow a structure in which a simple, direct phrase is followed by a more fleshed-out description—which might even be a practical or moral lesson. Examples of this can be found in the epigraphs of the second chapter, "Family misfortunes. The loss of fortune only serves to encrease the pride of the worthy," and the 26th, "A reformation in the gaol. To make laws complete, they should reward as well as punish." Others consist of a single short sentence, or a much longer one. Some of the epigraphs are rather elusive, reading almost like riddles. In these, the full meaning is only clear once the reader has read the given chapter in its entirety. It is ambiguous whether the epigraphs should be read as meta-narrative or as parts of the narration itself, as they often correspond with the earnest tone and didactic goals of Dr. Primrose.
